Bertie Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.
She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents.
She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own.
That is, until now.
Enter Stage Right

ARIEL. Seductive air spirit and Bertie’s weakness. The symbol of impending doom.

BERTIE. Our heroine.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

Lisa Mantchev has written a debut novel that is dramatic, romantic, and witty, with an irresistible and irreverent cast of characters who are sure to enchant the audience.
Open Curtain
What a wonderful debut! I wish I had the imagination to write something like this myself. It is one of those reads that you can't put down until you finish it. Bertie grows into her own during this story and I can't wait until the next one is released to find out what happens next with this cast of characters. A book for any theater loving geek to enjoy.

5/29/09

4 out of 5
Product Details
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Collins Design (January 20, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061684384
ISBN-13: 978-0061684388
Product Description
High Voltage Tattoo is a graphic perspective on today's global tattoo culture by Kat Von D, star of The Learning Channel's L.A. Ink and one of the most talented and popular artists working today. Designed in a style that is reminiscent of a handmade Gothic journal with its red padded cover, ornate typography, and parchmentlike pages, it throws the door wide open to tattooing culture in the way only an insider like Kat can.
High Voltage Tattoo traces Kat's career as an artist, from early childhood influences to recent work, along with examples of what inspires her, information about the show and her shop, her sketches, and personal tattoos. The book goes deep into tattoo process and culture: readers can see up close the pigments, the tools, and the making of complex, even collaborative, tattoos.
With a foreword by MötleyCrüe's Nikki Sixx, the book features images and stories about celebrities, rockers, pro skaters, and everyday citizens, including Slayer's Kerry King, Anthrax's Scott Ian, Margaret Cho, Jackass' BamMargera, David Letterman, and many others. It profiles and showcases the work of artists Kat has selected from all over the world, her interviews with people who have compelling tattoos and stories, and amazing images of extraordinary tattoo work. Numerous portfolios throughout the book showcase a range of relevant subjects, from the black and gray portrait work for which Kat is famous to a popular tattoo theme, such as the rose or biblical images. There is a knockout ten-page full-body spread of Kat—clad in a yellow bikini and seven-inch, rhinestone-studded red stilettos—that catalogs in detail all her personal tattoos on her front, back, left, and right sides—even her hands and head.
I have to say this is one fascinating book. The mini autobiography on Kat von D herself is nicely done and gives us a great background on her life and how she ended up with her tattoo obsession. The pictures alone can be looked at for hours.

Product DescriptionNow fans of Stephenie Meyer and Melissa Marr have a new author to devour . . .

Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal.

Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara.With suspense, romance, and paranormal themes, this exciting breakout novel has all the elements to keep teens rapidly turning the pages.

The story took awhile to get to, but then it was a page turner. I really think that this one needs a sequel! Nicely combines pixies/faries and werebeasts into a cute romance. If you enjoyed Tithe, you will like this, although it is not as dark.

5/27/09

The New York Times is reporting an "American Idol" hanging chad: One of the biggest corporate sponsors of “American Idol” might have influenced the outcome of the competition between Adam Lambert and Kris Allen.

Gabriel L ightfoot is an enterprising man from a northern E ngland mill town, making good in London. As executive chef at the once-splendid Imperial H otel, he is trying to run a tight kitchen. But his integrity, to say nothing of his sanity, is under constant challenge from the competing demands of an exuberant multinational staff, a gimlet-eyed hotel management, and business partners with whom he is secretly planning a move to a restaurant of his own. D espite the pressures, all his hard work looks set to pay off.Until a worker is found dead in the kitchen's basement. It is a small death, a lonely death -- but it is enough to disturb the tenuous balance of Gabe's life.Elsewhere, Gabriel faces other complications. His father is dying of cancer, his girlfriend wants more from their relationship, and the restaurant manager appears to be running an illegal business under Gabe's nose.Enter Lena, an eerily attractive young woman with mysterious ties to the dead man. Under her spell, Gabe makes a decision, the consequences of which strip him naked and change the course of the life he knows -- and the future he thought he wanted.

I really had to struggle to finish this book. The writing and descriptions are extremely well done, but I am not a descriptive type person. I just wished the book had moved quicker and there wasn't so much detail.

Isabel Gillies had a wonderful life -- a handsome, intelligent, loving husband; two glorious toddlers; a beautiful house; the time and place to express all her ebullience and affection and optimism. Suddenly, that life was over. Her husband, Josiah, announced that he was leaving her and their two young sons.When Josiah took a teaching job at a Midwestern college, Isabel and their sons moved with him from New York City to Ohio, where Isabel taught acting, threw herself into the college community, and delighted in the less-scheduled lives of toddlers raised away from the city. But within a few months, the marriage was over. The life Isabel had made crumbled. "Happens every day," said a friend.Far from a self-pitying diatribe, Happens Every Day reads like an intimate conversation between friends. Gillies has written a dizzyingly candid, compulsively readable, ultimately redemptive story about love, marriage, family, heartbreak, and the unexpected turns of a life. On the one hand, reading this book is like watching a train wreck. On the other hand, as Gillies herself says, it is about trying to light a candle instead of cursing the darkness, and loving your life even if it has slipped away. Hers is a remarkable new voice -- instinctive, funny, and irresistible.

"Happens every day," said a friend. The key here is the "friend" who said this is the one who steals her husband. This memoir reads more like a story than a typical autobiography. This type of story could have gone horribly wrong, but Gillies pulls it off and makes a story out of a disastrous relationship that would make most people extremely bitter. I hope she has found happiness now after what she endured. I loved this one!

Product DescriptionA spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history-the Salem witch trials.Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie's grandmother's abandoned home near Salem, she can't refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest--to find out who this woman was and to unearth a rare artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge.As the pieces of Deliverance's harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and she begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem's dark past then she could have ever imagined.Written with astonishing conviction and grace, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane travels seamlessly between the witch trials of the 1690s and a modern woman's story of mystery, intrigue, and revelation.

I absolutely loved this book! It had all of my favorite things: a little romance, a little magic and historical fiction. This was a wonderful debut. It reminded me a little of The Book of Unholy Mischief: A Novel by Elle Newmark. I finished this one in a day.

"Anyway, I now operate a little mini-library that no one has access to but myself. Practically a real library, because I keep an inventory log and give people due dates and everything. I would be in so much trouble if I got caught, but I think it's the right thing to do because before I started, almost no kid at school but myself took an active interest in reading! Now not only are all the kids reading the banned books, but go out of their way to read anything they can get their hands on. So I'm doing a good thing, right?"

Here are a few of the titles:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
His Dark Materials trilogy
Sabriel
The Canterbury Tales
Candide
The Divine Comedy
Paradise Lost
The Godfather
Mort
Interview with the Vampire
The Hunger Games
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Animal Farm
The Witches
Shade's Children
The Evolution of Manthe
Holy Qu'ran... and lots more.

Lanie Coates’s life is spinning out of control. She’s piled everything she owns into a U-Haul and driven with her husband, Peter, and their three little boys from their cozy Texas home to a multiflight walkup in the Northeast. She’s left behind family, friends, and a comfortable life–all so her husband can realize his dream of becoming a professional musician. But somewhere in the eye of her personal hurricane, it hits Lanie that she once had dreams too. If only she could remember what they were.These days, Lanie always seems to rank herself dead last–and when another mom accidentally criticizes her appearance, it’s the final straw. Fifteen years, three babies, and more pounds than she’s willing to count since the day she said “I do,” Lanie longs desperately to feel like her old self again. It’s time to rise up, fish her moxie out of the diaper pail, and find the woman she was before motherhood capsized her entire existence.Lanie sets change in motion–joining a gym, signing up for photography classes, and finding a new best friend. But she also creates waves that come to threaten her whole life. In the end, Lanie must figure out once and for all how to find herself without losing everything else in the process. Katherine Center’s Everyone Is Beautiful is a hugely entertaining, poignant, and charming new novel about what happens after happily ever after: how a woman learns to fall in love with her husband–and her entire life–all over again.

This reminded me a lot of Jennifer Weiner, as the book delivered believable characters and you could imagine the day to day activities of Lanie and her life. I really enjoyed this Mom Lit read.

A: NOT MANY.Megan Berry is a Zombie Settler by birth, which means she's part-time shrink to a whole bunch of semi-dead people with killer issues. All Megan really wants is to go to homecoming, but when you're trailed by a bunch of slobbering corpses whenever you leave the house, it's kinda hard to score a date. Let's just say Megan's love life could use some major resuscitation.Megan's convinced her life can't get any worse - until someone in school starts using black magic to turn average, angsty Undead into scary, hardcore flesh-eating Zombies. Now it's up to Megan to stop the Zombie apocalypse. Her life - and more importantly, the homecoming dance - depends on it.

I really enjoyed this young adult paranormal. I think it would appeal to most teenagers and it gives a different twist on this genre'. I was getting a little tired of vampire romances and this one was a cute page turner and a quick read.

In a place where ecstasy can cost you your life . . .She's a demon-slayer who hungers for sensual pleasure-but fears it will always be denied her. Until Tayla Mancuso lands in a hospital run by demons in disguise, and the head doctor, Eidolon, makes her body burn with unslakable desire. But to prove her ultimate loyalty to her peers, she must betray the surgeon who saved her life.Two lovers will dare to risk all.Eidolon cannot resist this fiery, dangerous woman who fills him with both rage and passion. Not only is she his avowed enemy, but she could very well be the hunter who has been preying upon his people. Torn between his need for the truth and his quest to find his perfect mate before a horrific transformation claims him forever, Eidolon will dare the unthinkable-and let Tayla possess him, body and soul...

Yeah, I know what the blurb says, it is all about sex. This book was about 50 pages away from being a "5" for me. The story was really great, but I could have done with less of the sex at the beginning. I swore I wasn't going to start a new series until I caught up a little bit, but everyone has been raving about this series and now I can see why. I had to stay up late just to finish it.

Product DescriptionWelcome to New Avalon, where everyone has a personal fairy. Though invisible to the naked eye, a personal fairy, like a specialized good luck charm, is vital to success. And in the case of the students at New Avalon Sports High, it might just determine whether you make the team, pass a class, or find that perfect outfit. But for 14-year-old Charlie, having a Parking Fairy is worse than having nothing at all—especially when the school bully carts her around like his own personal parking pass. Enter: The Plan. At first, teaming up with arch-enemy Fiorenza (who has an All-The-Boys-Like-You Fairy) seems like a great idea. But when Charlie unexpectedly gets her heart’s desire, it isn’t at all what she thought it would be like, and she’ll have resort to extraordinary measures to ditch her fairy. The question is: will Charlie herself survive the fairy ditching experiment? From the author of the acclaimed Magic or Madness trilogy, this is a delightful story of fairies, friendships, and figuring out how to make your own magic.

I really enjoyed this young adult novel and sends a good message for teens that you need to be true to yourself. Also, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. Charlie is very likable and even the villian (Fiorenze) isn't hardly a villian in the true sense of this world. Of course, they both find out that friendship is the best magic of all.

Meet the men in Diana Joseph’s life: “The boy,” Diana’s fourteen-year-old son, who supports the NRA and dreams of living in a house with wall-to-wall carpeting; Diana’s father, who’s called her on the telephone twice, ever, and who sat her down when she was twelve to caution her against becoming a slut (she didn’t listen); Diana’s brothers, or, as her father calls them, “the two assholes”; Diana’s ex-husband, a lumberjack with three ex-wives, yet he’s still the first one she calls when she’s in a jam; and Diana’s common-law husband, Al, an English professor who’s been mistakenly called mentally challenged. Ostensibly organized around the various men in Diana’s life, this is really a memoir about what it’s like to be a modern, smart woman making her way in the world.

This is one of those books that make your life seem normal. The author manages to tell her story without making you feel sorry for her even though she has a tough life. Parts were just really funny and I almost felt guilty laughing about them only to realize that was the point. If you can't laugh at life, you cry.

They were young, brilliant, and bold. They set out to conquer the world. But the world had other plans for them.Bestselling author Susan Jane Gilman's new memoir is a hilarious and harrowing journey, a modern heart of darkness filled with Communist operatives, backpackers, and pancakes. In 1986, fresh out of college, Gilman and her friend Claire yearned to do something daring and original that did not involve getting a job. Inspired by a place mat at the International House of Pancakes, they decided to embark on an ambitious trip around the globe, starting in the People's Republic of China. At that point, China had been open to independent travelers for roughly ten minutes. Armed only with the collected works of Nietzsche, an astrological love guide, and an arsenal of bravado, the two friends plunged into the dusty streets of Shanghai. Unsurprisingly, they quickly found themselves in over their heads. As they ventured off the map deep into Chinese territory, they were stripped of everything familiar and forced to confront their limitations amid culture shock and government surveillance. What began as a journey full of humor, eroticism, and enlightenment grew increasingly sinister-becoming a real-life international thriller that transformed them forever.Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven is a flat-out page-turner, an astonishing true story of hubris and redemption told with Gilman's trademark compassion, lyricism, and wit.

I am such a huge fan of memoirs and this one was a little different as it really became a story with a how it unfolded. You really can't put it down until you know how it ends. I just couldn't imagine going to a foreign country like China without the support of at least a translator, but that is youth for you. You can do anything! This is a must read for anyone who enjoys travel books.

Also, as I was reading this, my husband constantly asked me for updates...he wanted to know what happened and if they made it home.

It's Jaz Parks. I've already smoked the guy who was the pain in the CIA's you-know-what for the past few years. But now, in the power vacuum left by the death of Edward "The Raptor"Samos, a struggle for supremacy has begun between his former allies. The CIA feels the balance must be maintained. So when an agent planted among the Weres discovers a plot to assassinate the Coven's leader, my vampire boss and I are brought in to take out the woman hired to do the deed, a killer who might be as wily and Gifted as ourselves.So it's off to the Scottish Highlands for some twisted fun among murderers, demons and half-crazed relatives. Sometimes being a top-secret CIA assassin isn't all it's cracked up to be.

If I could ever choose to become a character in a book for a day, I would pick Jaz Parks. I just love the fact that she is so human, yet has supernatural powers. This latest installlment had me laughing and turning the pages to get to the end. The only problem is that the story ended, but at least I know there is another one to be released. (finished 5/14/09)

Product DescriptionThe devil went down to Georgia . . .Nicki Styx has always known that the devil's in the details—but does he have to move in next door, too? Worse, he won't take no for an answer. Nicki would never leave her beloved boyfriend, ER doc Joe Bascombe, but hell hath no fury like a devil scorned. He's determined to make Nicki's life a living hell—even if it means exposing Nicki as an unwilling ghoulfriend to the dead.Now, just when she was getting used to being able to see and hear—and help—spirits, Nicki's got a whole new set of problems. With ghosts descending from all sides, the bereaved knocking down her door, and Joe trying to take things to the next level, Nicki may finally be in over her head. It would be so easy to dance with the devil . . . but if Nicki crosses over to the dark side, she may never leave.

I don't think anyone can do crazy ghosts better than Terri Garey and she proves that again in this episode of Nicki Styx. I think she named this last one Chrystal and gave her an eating disorder just to use the nickname "Chrystal Meth" as a punchline. There are much funnier lines in the book though. Overall, this is a quick read and pefect for this summer. I highly recommend this series. (finished 5/11/09)

Product DescriptionSin is coming...prepare to swoon.Torn from her native New York City and dumped in the land of cookie-cutter preps, Candice is resigned to accept her posh, dull fate. Nothing ever happens in Swoon, Connecticut...until Dice's perfect, privileged cousin Penelope nearly dies in a fall from an old tree and her spirit intertwines with that of a ghost. His name? Sinclair Youngblood Powers. His mission? Revenge. And while Pen is oblivious to the possession, Dice is all too aware of Sin. She's intensely drawn to him -- but not at all crazy about the havoc he's wreaking.Determined to exorcise the demon, Dice accidentally sets Sin loose, gives him flesh, makes him formidable. Now she must destroy an even more potent -- and irresistible -- adversary before the whole town succumbs to Sin's will. Only trouble is, she's in love with him.What do you do when the boy of your dreams is too bad to be true?

I enjoyed this very original young adult paranormal. The action was fast paced and the characters were well developed. The author truly has a way with words and I was at first dismayed by the length of this book, it went very quickly and I stayed up way too long to finish it. Candice (aka "Dice") is very likable and Sinclair really reminded me of someone straight out of a Jane Austin novel. The only downfall with this book is that I can't see a sequel in the works.(finished 5/8/09)

In The Right Address, Jill Kargman went behind the doors of New York’s most prestigious building. In Wolves in Chic Clothing, the junior jet set took center stage. In Momzillas, it was hyper-competitive Upper East Side mothers. And now, in The Ex- Mrs. Hedgefund, Kargman creates a hilarious, deliciously scathing send-up of the ultra-rich, ultra-ambitious hedge fund set.Seemingly sheltered from the threats of economic collapse and the risk of downsizing from new Roger Viviers to consignment Manolos, the Hedge Fund men and their wives occupy a world of boundless excess and secluded luxury, a step above the already outrageous wealth of the Upper East Side.Married to the founder of Comet Capital, Holly Talbott is slowing becoming a reluctant Mrs. Hedgefund. Sure, it’s great to be a stay-at-home mom to her son Miles and to have a rolodex of eager donors when she is fundraising for the local hospital. But, the lunches are called luncheons because they take eons, even botox can’t stop her mother-in-law’s withering stares, and her husband, Tim, is away so often it feels like she’s single again.When an adventure in trendy Williamsburg leads to a shocking discovery, Holly soon learns that not all of Tim’s trips have been for business. Forced to choose between living honestly and being a Mrs. Hedgefund, Holly begins to navigate a new New York existence and finds that sometimes exes have all the fun, and in the most unexpected places...

I LOVE snarky dialogue and this has it! It is full of line you just wish you had said yourself and with that fantasy in mind, everything else that you could dream up. This is a great beach read and chick lit for the summer months. I like the fact that the main character, Holly, is not so wrapped up in the rich and famous lifestyle and you can honestly root for her. That and the EX gets his in the end.

Product DescriptionGina Santiago is a member of an elite tactical team in charge of protecting the world. She’s devoted her life to apprehending the most heinous criminals that prey on society—and now she’s after the worst one yet.On her own, with no backup, the trail takes her to a dusty, tight-knit town on the fringes of society, where everyone’s a suspect. Even the sexy sheriff, Morgan Hunter, is not telling her everything. Gina knows he’s trouble, but she’s inexorably drawn to him.The closer Gina comes to finding out the secret of this sleepy little town and its big bad sheriff; the closer she comes to catching the predator, the more scared she gets—because she’s beginning to realize that she has a secret too. A secret that will change Gina’s life… and make her the killer’s prey.

This is loosely based on Little Red Riding Hood and if you know that fairy tale, you know there is a big bad wolf. I found this to be a nicely written romance set in a post apocalyptic future that is surprisingly realistic. I loved Red (Gina) and the sheriff (Morgan) and hated the bad guy who is the the wolf (Kane). A little too descriptive at times and some of the words drove me up the wall --like adding "synth" to describe paper, coffee and food. Overall, a fun page turner.

Product DescriptionStanding on the fringes of life...offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative new voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower.This is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.

About the Author

Stephen Chbosky grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Southern California's Filmic Writing Program. His first film, The Four Corners of Nowhere, premiered at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival and went on to win Best Narrative Feature honors at the Chicago Underground Film Festival. He is the recipient of the Abraham Polonsky Screenwriting Award for his screenplay Everything Divided as well as a participant in the SundanceInstitute's filmmakers' lab for his current project, Fingernails and Smooth Skin. Chbosky lives in New York.

This is truly a heart felt book that most teens can relate to. Charlie is the most likable and human character I have met in a long time. I can see why some parents might try and ban this book since it is pretty straight forward in dealing with drugs, sexuality and mental health issues. Too much truth about teens is too much for a lot of adults to handle.

Mia thinks of herself as a grown up. Her twenty-two-year-old sister, Clare, is once again in the death throes of an affair that was always doomed to failure. Mia now understands that relationships need work; that in an adult partnership, passion and spontaneity give way to something different but more lasting. With Pete she knows that her search for 'The One' can stop. Until, tripping over Pete's phone on the way to the loo one night, she reads a text message that sends her blood cold. Everything in it - its tone, the kisses at the end, Pete's evasions about the sender 'Liz' - is wrong, and suddenly the blinkers are off. It's time to get back in the game, and with everything to play for, Mia is about to discover a capacity for deceit she never knew she had. After all, when Happy Ever After is at stake, any weapon at your disposal is fair game - isn't it?

I read the UK version. This is a darker type of chick lit than the normally sunny everything works out, girls triumphs over everything. The story is very compelling and leaves you with an icky feeling over what the main characters does and how she reacts to the information that her boyfriend is cheating on her.